Creating a Green Tourism Image for Hanoi

2011-09-20 (GMT + 7)

More than one million readers of leading Asian travel magazine Smart Travel Asia have taken part in selecting the most attractive tourist sites in Asia. Hanoi was listed as one of the best tourist sites, ranking higher than Hoi An.

According to Smart Travel Asia, Hanoi ranked sixth among the top 10 most attractive tourist sites, equaling Shanghai (China), with Hoi An ranked equal seventh with Rajashan (India) and Seoul (S Korea). The leading tourist site was Bali (Indonesia).

Among the 25 best hotels and resorts, the Nam Hai (in Hoi An) and Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi held the leading position. The Sofitel Legend Metropole ranked eighth among 25 hotels for best conference services in Asia and 18th among 25 hotels which provide the best business tourism services in Asia.

To express its gratitude to millions of people who love Hanoi, the Hanoi tourism sector will make ceaseless efforts to develop attractive tourism products to meet domestic and international demand. Hanoi intends to draft a plan to exploit the cultural and historical values of Thang Long citadel, the Giong Festival, Temple of Literature, Hanoi Museum, Ngoc Son Temple and the Old Quarter.

In addition, Hanoi will continue to invest in the tourism sector towards exploiting its cultural and ecotourism potential. Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Truong Minh Tien said that ecotourism was the biggest advantage of Ba Vi (Hanoi). The district can attract a large number of tourists thanks to valuable and rare animals and plants which need to be protected. Ba Vi National Park has enthusiastic and skillful forest rangers who are always ready to provide tourists with information about their location.

New tourism products will include eco tours to Soc Son, tours combined with religious activities and homestays in Ba Vi and tours to craft villages and old houses in Duong Lam and more. Hanoi is also considering opening tours to Dao people's villages in Ba Vi. Tourists can stay in local stilt houses and experience Dao traditional herb baths.

The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is encouraging businesses to develop green, sustainable and environmental friendly tourism products. The city will focus on using environmentally friendly means of transport, encourage accommodation facilities to use clean energy, save energy and reduce the use of chemicals in tourism services. These methods promise to bring many benefits to Hanoi's tourism sector such as promoting sustainable economic development, creating stable profits, and developing a beautiful image of Hanoi to domestic and international tourists, emphasized Mai Tien Dung, the deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.